


Family Ties

by bruunhildr



Category: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Cartoon 2018), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon Compliant, Found Family, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Sibling Bonding, Spoilers for Season Two!, TCEST DNI
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-20
Updated: 2020-12-04
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:01:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27336838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bruunhildr/pseuds/bruunhildr
Summary: Big Mama has a secret, one that she's kept diligently for the past thirteen years: she is also a parent to mutant turtle teens. She raised her children to serve her well, but things start to take a turn after an encounter with Splinter's sons.Venus has always struggled to justify her mother's ways, but her sense of duty has kept her rooted to the spider's side. Now she needs to decide where her loyalties truly lie. Meanwhile, Slash has never been able to catch his mother's attention, and his restlessness leads him to search for approval from elsewhere. Beyond the walls of the Grand Nexus Hotel, he thrives out from under Big Mama's thumb.Together, the two make discoveries that will change their lives forever. They are given a choice: do they keep their family ties, or is it better to sever them all?Introducing the Cousins AU!! Here, Venus and Slash are functionally cousins of our main turtle boys, and they go on a  journey of discovering the family they never had!! Updates Fridays!! I hope you enjoy and thank you for reading!!
Comments: 4
Kudos: 31





	1. The Fall of The Grand Nexus Hotel

“Come with us Big Mama! There is still good in you!” Lou called out urgently.

“My cuddle-lupacus!” the spider lady replied, shooting out a web and catching the rat’s outstretched wrist. 

As Lou sunk through the portal, Big Mama let herself be pulled along with him. Relief flooded her as she neared the vortex in the floor; she would live to scheme another day. But she had celebrated too soon. The claws of her Shadow Fiend— no, the Shredder— slammed her wrist into the floor. The blue light died as the portal closed, neatly severing her chance at escape. Then that pesky Foot Clan recruit stepped into view.

“The turtles are of no concern to us, but _you_ enslaved my master! Now, you will lose everything!” the recruit exclaimed, clenching the fist that wore the ring to remind the yōkai of what she’d done, what she had to pay for. A shiver ran up Big Mama’s thorax.

The recruit’s voice dropped dangerously low then. “I’d run if I were you.”

The jorōgumo barely had time to scramble towards the elevator before the foot recruit ordered the Shedder to destroy. The armor-beast obediently raised his fists and savagely struck the floor. A crater appeared beneath him, and then the entire level of the building ruptured under the weight of the blow. As it fell, Big Mama watched the recruit make a clean getaway with her ultimate champion. With a cry of anguish, the spider went down with her hotel. 

•••

A cloaked figure sprinted up the empty sidewalk, desperately trying to reach the pile of rubble that the Grand Nexus Hotel had been reduced to. The tortoiseshell armor mounted on her shoulder clacked with each hard step that met the concrete. One more block, just one more block and she would be there. As she turned the corner, the sight of the crumbled building put a hiccup into her stride. Pushing through her shock, she reached the spot where the front doors used to be and threw herself into the debris to search for her boss: Big Mama. 

As she dug through ruined hotel carpets and smashed marble flooring, she couldn’t help but feel a little guilty. Sure, she had been sent out to take care of business with the Makers of Brutality (which had been a very important but very _unpretty_ task), but she should have been here protecting her employer and the hotel! Behind her kabuki mask, her breath came shallow with worry. Her search became frantic. 

Finally, after a nerve-wracking five minutes spent hunting through pile after pile of the hotel’s remains, there was a shift in the wreckage a few feet away. A large taloned limb appeared from beneath a sizable slab of concrete, no doubt belonging to the missing arachnid. It waved half-heartedly for help. The figure leapt up and rushed to haul the concrete off of her boss, struggling with the slab until she managed to get her shoulder underneath it. She used her weight to push it over and it tilted like a domino before breaking into smaller pieces when it met the ground. Big Mama let out a small sigh from where she lay face-down in the hotel’s dust, just happy to have the weight off her back.

“Mama!” the assistant said, forgetting the usual formalities as she rolled the spider lady over. A quick survey of her condition reported a good deal of injuries that required serious attention. 

“Oh, _Venus_ , my teetle-iest weetle child-servant, there you are!” 

Big Mama’s voice came out more sing-song than usual (which was saying something), a sure sign that she had hit her head. The cloaked assistant brushed a few strands of green hair out of the way, trying to find a bump. The spider hissed dramatically when she found it.

“Yes, ma’am, I’m here,” Venus said, snapping back into business mode. 

“My my my, we’ve been pickled haven’t we? My champion gone, my hotel in ruins, not to mention my standing in the Hidden City...” At that, the jorōgumo’s bottom lip began to tremble, and Venus prepared to deal with an onslaught of spider tears. But Big Mama began to laugh hysterically instead. The shrill bout of laughter quickly devolved into a coughing fit, however, and Venus helped the yōkai sit up. She was waved off, the big arachnid insisting she was fine, it was just all the didgeridoo-ing dust in the air. 

Venus did as she was told and backed off to give her boss some space. But before she got very far, one of BM’s smaller, less intimidating hands tenderly caught the side of her face. She tugged Venus’ chin down to stare at her with her triple sets of big red eyes. 

“Thank you, Veevee. I know I can always count on you,” she said. 

The assistant froze. Big Mama had definitely hit her head, and _hard. S_ he was never this affectionate, and she certainly hadn’t used that nickname since Venus was small. And what exactly was she thanking her for? She’d left for all of two hours and the hotel was gone! But BM’s tone sounded genuine, and it made Venus want to lean into the touch just the tiniest bit.

“Of course, Mama,” she murmured, daring to drop formalities again and hoping her pseudo-mother figure wouldn’t notice. 

“Now please, remove your mask my dearie-goo! I’d like to see your face.”

Again, the assistant hesitated, unsure of what to do. Big Mama always had her keep the kabuki mask on, proclaiming there was fun to be found in secrets and anonymity. Venus suspected that there was more to it than just a game of dress-up; especially with how strict she had gotten about it. The recent altercations with those turtles, Baron Draxum, the Foot Clan, and the Shredder were surely to blame. However, she obeyed and removed the red and white mask, revealing the green skin of her face beneath. Big Mama didn’t want anyone to know that she harbored a teenaged turtle too.

The big jorōgumo giggled and lightly tapped Venus on the end of her beak. “Such a boopable little snoot you have!” she cried with glee. 

The turtle assistant smiled nervously, doing her best to hide her concern, and tucked the mask into her belt. Then she tucked herself under Big Mama’s arm and helped haul the delusional spider to her feet. Venus’ main priority was to get underground to the Hidden City and get those injuries the proper care. Hopefully, after BM recovered, they could rebuild the hotel and things would return to business as usual. 

If only she knew how much things were going to change.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiya!! I hope you liked the first chapter of this fic!! Got some major inspiration to actually write this from Andy's recent info drop about there being more turtles, man is that wild!! Anyway, sorry this is on the shorter side, it's my first time writing a real proper fic, and def my first time posting to Ao3, woohoo!! Thanks for reading!! :D


	2. One Turtle, Two Turtle, Red Turtle, Blue Turtle

Since the hotel’s direct entrance to the Hidden City was most likely out of commission, they would have to find a different way down to the bustling yōkai hub. As Venus led Big Mama toward an alleyway across the empty street, she couldn’t help but think about the first time she’d had a run-in with those other turtles. 

It had been just over a month ago now. Big Mama had gotten a call from the doorman about some rat claiming to be her “Snuggle Muffin Beefcake”. A gasp had escaped the spider lady, and she ordered that he be brought down to the Battle Nexus immediately. Venus couldn’t tell if BM was upset or ecstatic, but she loyally followed her boss up to her private spectator box, high above the arena.

“Snuggle Muffin _Beefcake_?” Big Mama demanded as the elevator doors opened, “Where did you hear that naughty little nickname, rat-man?” The rat responded with a huff and dragged the yōkai mob boss into an intense spin, which ended with Big Mama dipping him. 

“From you, as we tangoed the night away, my Sassy Sugar Badger.”

Venus was vaguely aware of their exchange, but most of her attention was focused on the rat’s companion: a turtle. He stood just a couple inches taller than her, dressed in blue ninja garb with a long ōdachi blade strapped to his back. And he had bright red and yellow stripes! It was a shock to see him; Venus had no idea there were more turtles like her. She remembered that it was rude to stare, and was suddenly grateful that her mask hid her eyes.

The rat said something about the Shedder— calling him a beast— and Big Mama pulled out a mystic device to observe the dark armor. Venus tore her gaze away from the turtle in blue to glance at the device, only to find three more turtles on the video feed: one in red, one in orange, and one in purple. All of them were different and unique but still undoubtedly green-skinned and half-shelled! What was going on here? 

“Oo, what a brutey behemoth,” Big Mama said, pulling Venus from her train of thought. Looking at her, Venus realized that her boss wasn’t at all surprised that there were other turtles. Had she known all along? She couldn’t have, could she?

Big Mama explained that the Shredder’s quantum energy was causing him to hop between dimensions at an alarming rate. The rat asked if she had anything to contain him, and BM sent Venus a look. The turtle assistant produced a display crystal from her belt, pulling up an image of a magic collar that was in their inventory. Venus had years of experience concealing her emotions while on the job, but she was struggling now. Curiosity raged through her, along with twisting undercurrents of confusion and suspicion. It was hard to stay quiet when it felt like the proverbial rug had been pulled out from beneath her. 

The spider yōkai went on to say that the two could have the collar for a price, which was her customary deal. The rat huffed again and made a snide remark about it, to which Big Mama got in his face. Venus could feel a spat coming on, and she readied herself for orders. But then the blue-masked turtle stepped in, his sword casually thrown over his shoulder.

“Big Mama, _babbey_ , let’s talk Shredder,” he began. The turtle then explained how the metal demon was bad for business and offered to make a deal on his terms.

“Blue! Don’t!” the rat yelled frantically, “Nobody ever outsmarts her!”

So, the turtle’s name was Blue. Venus thought his outfit was a little egotistical, but that seemed to go right along with his cocky charisma as he launched into a big speech about what the Battle Nexus needed: a headliner. Then he said something strange; he called the rodent “Rat Jitsu”, saying he was Big Mama’s old champion in new form. Wait, he couldn’t mean that the legendary Lou Jitsu was standing right in front of her, could he? Venus had only ever heard stories of his Nexus days from hotel employees, but she knew that Lou was supposed to be human. How had he become a rat? 

After a few more lines to sweeten the deal, Blue managed to get Big Mama to agree, much to Rat Jitsu’s dismay. The rodent would fight in the arena. Venus resisted her urge to protest until after both of their guests were ushered out of the box and sent to one of the dressing rooms. Then she couldn't stand to be quiet anymore.

“Big Mama,” she said once the elevator doors had closed. 

“Yes?” the spider replied, in a tone that warned her assistant not to ask too many questions. Venus knew that tone well, so she brought up a different issue instead.

“You know who's supposed to fight Kraken Tom next.”

“Oh, why yes, of course, my pet! But I simply could not pass up a chance to have my former fuzzy-wuzzy champion back in the ring!”

“But he’ll be so upset-” Venus started to say, only to be cut off by Big Mama shushing her, tapping a claw to the front of her mask. Another warning Venus was quite familiar with. 

“I’m sure you can handle him,” BM said, attention already shifting to the arena floor below, “Now please, go tell your brother-wother dear that there has been a change of plans!”

Frustrated, Venus left the room without so much as a nod. Not that her boss noticed, already engrossed in the current match. Alone in the elevator, Venus had time to reflect on everything she had just learned: she’d apparently met Lou Jitsu, and there were four other turtles out there who knew him! She had to admit that she was a bit jealous. She was quite the fan of his, though she’d never gotten to see him in action. Big Mama hadn’t been too keen on her watching his films when she was younger either (and now, seeing them interact, she thought she might know why), but she and her brother used to sneak _Punch Chowder_ from her vault whenever they could. Wait until she told her sibling that she’d actually met their favorite action star! 

As she entered the fighter’s level of the arena, Venus could hear Blue’s loud voice coming from somewhere down the darkened corridor. As much as she wanted to talk to them, ask them hundreds of questions and maybe get an autograph, she resisted the urge. She didn’t know how Big Mama would react if she found out and besides, she had some pretty terrible news to deliver. She came to a stop outside of a different dressing room, removed her mask, and rapped her two knuckles on the doorframe. 

“Hey, Slash,” she said quietly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's chapter two!! And whoa, as I'm writing this the first chapter has 90 hits??? I was expecting, like, 10 at the most, thank you so much for reading!! I hope you guys enjoy this fic as much as I enjoy writing it, and stay tuned!! I have some pretty big things planned!! Happy Friday!!


	3. Let's Get Kraken!

The hulking figure perked up at the sound of her voice. Venus watched as he stood from the bench he’d been sitting at, dropping the weight he’d been lifting with a loud bang. The wicked-sharp spines of his shell glinted dangerously in the dim light of the dressing room, and his yellow eyes gleamed as he turned to look at her. Most yōkai would have fled at the sight of him— an absolute mountain of a turtle covered in spikes and battle scars— but Venus wasn’t the least bit intimidated. This was her baby brother after all. 

Slash flashed her a grin full of fangy teeth. “Hey, Vee. Come to watch my match?”

She hesitated. She knew her brother had a temper, but she was more worried about how disappointed he’d be. He wanted to be a Battle Nexus champion so badly, but Big Mama’s ranking system was a cruel and fickle mistress that seemed to switch up every five minutes. Venus couldn’t really make sense of it herself. Despite this, Slash had thrown himself into every match he’d been slated for so far. He was currently on a seven to one winning streak (he claimed he only lost to Kid Cthulhu because that little eldritch horror had cheated), and his older sister was proud of him. She knew this news would crush him. 

“Well, actually Slash, there’s been a change of plans,” she said, avoiding his gaze and staring out the window. She had a clear view of Kraken Tom and the arena floor. It physically hurt to tell him the next part. “You won’t be fighting in the arena today.”

"...Why?" Slash asked after a moment, his voice low with disappointment.

“Mama...ended up finding an old champion of hers…” Venus said cautiously. She looked up to see the bigger turtle’s hands balling up into fists. He was doing his best to control his anger, something he’d been diligently working on, but sometimes he slipped. She had no reason to be scared; she knew that her brother would never hurt her. She mainly just hated seeing him like this, so frustrated and upset. 

Slash whipped around and threw his fist at a punching bag with enough force to rip it from the chain. It landed with a hard thud, sand pouring from the hole his blow had left in it. The big turtle turned away, a growl rising from his throat and his thick tail lashing back and forth. Venus knew he hated her seeing him like this too.

“Sorry,” Slash mumbled after a moment. He straightened up, but not to his full height. Never his full height. The big turtle preferred to slouch to appear less frightening. He turned to face her again, nervously rubbing at the back of his neck. He wouldn’t meet her eyes, too ashamed that he’d ruined _another_ punching bag. Venus sighed and came forward to pat her little brother on the upper arm. She wished he hadn’t gotten so tall, she couldn’t reach his shoulder anymore. 

“It’s alright, bud,” she told him, “C'mon, get dressed. I’ll buy you some scorched dogs from concessions.”

•••

With her arms full of snacks, Venus made her way up to the best seat in the house. Well, the best seat in the canyon the Battle Nexus was built in: the very edge of the canyon itself. Sure, it was a bit of a trek to get there, since it was well-past the nosebleed section, but the perks far outweighed the downsides. You could see the whole stadium, and you could make conversation with those sitting next to you without the risk of going deaf. Slash was already there, his hood up, knees tucked under his elbows and his snout buried in the crook of an arm. He had assumed a position Venus liked to call “Full On Sulk Mode”.

He got like this whenever his anger subsided: painfully quiet and more upset at himself than whatever had set him off in the first place. To Venus, this was worse than seeing him angry. He always curled in on himself, hiding away in a figurative shell since he couldn’t pull himself inside his physical one. So, she always took it upon herself to pull him out of it. 

“Here,” she said as she handed him three blackened hotdogs, topped with relish and mustard, just how he liked them. Slash took the dogs from her, being overly cautious about his claws, and began munching away. Venus didn’t get why he liked them so charred, but who was she to stand in his way? She chose a big soft pretzel for herself to nibble on, topped with her own splash of mustard. 

They sat in silence for a while, watching as the current match came to an end with Kraken Tom absolutely decimating his opponent. Venus gave a quiet, half-hearted cheer, but Slash seemed to sink further into his sulk. She felt guilty then. Maybe bringing him to watch the match he was supposed to fight wasn’t a good idea. 

“And now, entering the arena, the all-time winning-est Battle Nexus champion, back and even _harrier_ , Rat Jitsuuuuu,” the announcer called as the challenger’s gate rose. Slash perked up. The two turtles watched as the rat stepped out into the arena wearing a classic Lou Jitsu jumpsuit. Slash nearly choked on his food. He turned to look at his sister, eyes wide and his mouth full of both hot dogs and questions

“Is that-” he started to ask around his mouthful.

“Yeah, I think so,” Venus replied.

“But he’s-”

“I know.”

“No way.”

As they turned their attention back to the stadium, that turtle from before popped out of a trap door in the arena floor, wearing another Lou Jitsu-style jumpsuit. Ah, so Big Mama had changed the deal at the last second, hadn't she? Typical. Venus felt Slash stiffen beside her and the next second, he was on his feet. 

“WHAT?!”, he roared, spilling all of the napkins that had been spread across his lap.

“Yeah, there’s-”

“ _Another_ turtle?”

“Mhm, and-”

“He knows Rat-Lou Jitsu!”

Venus nodded and patted at Slash's knee, motioning for him to sit back down. The bigger turtle did so, crouching down and looking up at her expectantly, eagerly awaiting what his sister had to say. Venus finished her pretzel and brushed a few crumbs off her lap before continuing.

"So, Lou Jitsu is a rat now, and he's got a turtle with him. But not just one turtle, I saw three others on Mama's mystic video feed," Venus said.

"Three others..." Slash echoed, his tone riddled with disbelief.

"I got to meet Lou, too. Well, not meet per se, but I was there when Mama went to greet him," she went on. 

“No fair, you always get all the good stuff!” Slash said, pouting a little.

“Hey, I was going to get you an autograph, but-”

Venus was cut off by a bellowing roar from Kraken Tom that made the entire canyon quake. The siblings looked down and Venus noticed that Blue’s ōdachi had made a sudden reappearance. Had he really pulled a fast one on Big Mama? Things got a little more interesting when the Evil Six began their charge and Blue took them on single-handedly, every slice of his blade leaving a slew of blue portals hanging in the air. A real mystic weapon.

Slash and Venus turned to look at each other. “Whoa,” they said together.

One of the Evil Six was launched at the kraken’s face and flippantly smacked away towards the other end of the stadium. Then it was Rat Jitsu’s turn. Blue sent him through a portal and the stout rat whipped the remaining five into a disheveled heap using his tail, with his trademark cry of “Hot Soup!” 

One moment Blue was on the ground and the next he was up in the air, launching a volley of pointed helmets and pinning each of Kraken Tom’s tentacles to the floor of the arena like it was nothing. Venus couldn’t say she wasn’t impressed. Blue had seemed like he was all talk and no action, but this was _insane_. Not only was he able to move that fast, but this had obviously been strategic. Sure, the execution was improvised, but Venus could see that this had been his goal all along. The requests he made hadn’t been foolhardy or overconfident but deliberately made to look that way. Had this turtle actually outsmarted Big Mama? Not just anybody could do that. It made her a little uneasy, how effortless he made it all look. He could turn out to be a dangerous enemy after all. 

Slash, however, seemed to have forgotten all of his worries. Sulk Mode was nowhere to be found. He stood and cheered for the turtle, caught up in the excitement of both the fight and the notion that he and his sister weren’t alone after all. 

The match ended with Blue sending a helmeted Rat Jitsu straight into Kraken Tom’s forehead. “Ohohoh, it’s a knock out folks!” the announcer called, and the crowd went absolutely wild, chanting Rat Jitsu’s name. Venus and Slash were there chanting right along with them. The older sister guessed that Blue had been right; the Battle Nexus had needed a headliner. 

Suddenly, Big Mama was down in the ring. She and the winning duo exchanged words that Venus couldn't make out, but she watched as her boss handed the collar over.

“They make a deal?” Slash asked. He might not have been front and center for most of Big Mama’s wheelings and dealings, but he was familiar with them enough.

“Mhm, something about capturing the Shedder. I’m sure we’ll hear more about it soon,” Venus answered. 

After Blue and Rat Jitsu were sent on their way, the spider turned and fixed her two wards with a stare. The siblings both knew what that meant: back to business. Slash turned his head and watched his sister straighten up under their boss' red gaze. Her hands went straight to her mask, hastily putting it back on and standing up. The younger turtle didn’t like how quickly his sister’s demeanor hardened, how unlike herself she became while on the job. But, duty called.

“I'm sorry,” she said, “I've got to go.”

“Yeah...see you later,” Slash replied. 

And then Venus left, leaving him all by his lonesome on the edge of the Battle Nexus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey!! Thanks for reading chapter three!! I'm so glad you guys are liking this little au fic!! 190 hits, that's crazy!! I tried to make this chapter a little longer, and hopefully I'll be able to keep that up!! Anyway, hope you enjoyed and happy Friday!!


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